Colcannon and Chicken Chasseur (France and Ireland) ============================ Colcannon--The Dish ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The story and recipe for Colcannon - delicious with "Chicken with chasseur sauce" but also per Mick's recommendations below I vividly recall, not long after my arrival in the U.S., being informed that corned beef and cabbage was considered to be the traditional dish of Ireland. I had only once, that I remembered, partaken of this dish and that had been served with the apologies of an English friend who served it to a gathering in her small flat in Bedford, England. A student on a limited budget, she explained that it was as far as her housekeeping would stretch. She further explained that among her parent's generation the dish was strongly associated with the rationing and other privations of WWII--in short, that it was considered a lowly dish. Well, in her hands, and with a few shared bottles of stout, it was a far from lowly dish. I have dined well on it a number of times since then--I recall a very good version at a reception in Sheridan, Wyoming when the band was playing there for St. Patrick's day. Good and all as corned beef and cabbage can be, however, no-one in Ireland would consider it the traditional dish of the country. A nice leg of lamb, most probably, would be considered a good and celebratory repast but in terms of an old, and traditionally revered, dish a plate of colcannon is your only man. Colcannon is eaten at any and all times of the year but by custom should be eaten at Halloween. Another customary treat on Halloween is Barm Brack, a type of fruit bread. When I was a child my mother would put charms in both the Colcannon and the Barm Brack--as you're supposed to do. A button meant you would remain a bachelor and a thimble meant you would remain a spinster for the coming year. A ring meant you would get married and a sixpence meant you would come into wealth--if you were a child sixpence was wealth. There are, maybe, hundreds of recipes for this dish--just check the web for example--and many people insist that theirs is the definite article--kind of like the French with Cassoulet or the Spanish with Paella. So, I'll be general and approximate here; this is food and you should trust your instincts. Ingredients ~~~~~~~~~ 1 lb Kale or other dark cabbage (but not white cabbage) 3 lbs Potatoes (Yukon Golds are best) 1 Onion, chopped 1 stick Butter 4 oz Cream Pinch of Dill Pinch of Nutmeg or mace Salt and white pepper to taste Boil about 1 lb of Kale in lightly salted water. Don't overcook--a little crunchy is good. Start the kale before you boil the potatoes. Drain it well and keep it warm. Peel, quarter them and boil potatoes in salted water-20 mins or more. No skins and no lumps. (If you can get them, Yukon Golds are good.) Saute 1 onion (chopped) in about a tablespoon of butter, for about 5 minutes. Add 4oz of cream and 2 Tbls, or more, of butter, a big pinch of dill and a pinch of nutmeg or mace. Heat until butter is melted --A tip: don't add cold liquids to warm mashed potatoes and expect anything other than lumpy goo--you've been warned. Method ~~~~~~ Mash the potatoes, mightily, lovingly, with a potato masher or some comparable implement. DO NOT WHISK; DO NOT PUT IN A FOOD PROCESSOR; DO NOT PUT IN A BLENDER. Just mash them and leave no lumps--it's easy. Chop the kale or cabbage finely Melt the rest of the stick of butter and set aside. In a warmed bowl combine mashed potatoes, kale, onion-butter-cream mix and stir gently; Check seasoning - you may need to add a little salt and maybe some pepper (I like white pepper in this dish). Serve: Make a mound of the mixture on a warm plate. On top of the mound make a "crater" and fill with the reserved melted butter. Take spoonfuls/forkfuls of "foothill" and dip in "crater." I've eaten the above with corned beef and cabbage--with which it has a wonderful affinity; with filet mignon and Port sauce; with rashers, tomatoes and kidneys-in-their-jackets at 4am and--God forgive me--wrapped in a tortilla, microwaved and eaten, over the sink, with salsa. Depending on what you're serving it with, you might serve stout, buttermilk or, as with the filet mignon mentioned above, a nice claret. OK. A lot of this is up to you--it takes a little courage to make a recipe one's own. I have witnessed the "execution" of many a fine recipe by different cooks and seen some others take simple dishes on to great heights. This can be a fine dish when done right and if you take your time it will yield to you. Enjoy. Mick From and with thanks to Mick: http://www.colcannon.com/story/reccolc.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chicken Saute Chasseur (Hunter Style) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serving Size : 4 Ingredients ~~~~~~~~~ 1 tblsp Butter 1 tblsp Olive oil (extra virgin) 3-1/2 lb Chicken -- Cut up for frying 6 oz Shallots -- peeled and diced 10 oz Mushrooms -- sliced 2 tblsp Flour 1 floz Brandy 10 floz Chardonnay Dry White Wine 1 tblsp Sun-dried tomato Pesto 1/4 cup Tomato sauce 1 pint Stock Chicken Brown 1 tblsp Parsley -- chopped Salt and Pepper -- to taste Lemon juice fresh -- to taste Method ~~~~~~ Cut the chicken into 12 pieces, leg, thigh and breast in two, wing. Using a heavy pot with a lid, brown it skin side down in the pre-warmed butter and oil over a medium flame, and let it take good color. Turn it over and brown both sides. Remove the chicken to a dish. Add the diced shallots and mushrooms. Let the shallots get soft and lightly browned. Take your time. Add 2 tblsp of flour and let it brown. The taste of the browned flour is a basic part of this dish. Another way is to lightly flour the bird before frying. Pour off all excess fat at this point. Add Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and cook a few moments more. Add tomato sauce and cook 5 minutes, to cook off any sourness. Add the Brandy, Wine, and Brown Chicken Stock. Let this come to a boil, and simmer 5 min, with stirring. Add the previously browned Chicken and any juices it may have left with it, and simmer in the sauce till tender. This may take less than an hour with todays tender chickens, but will take longer with wild game, such as Pheasant. If the sauce weeps some grease, as chicken will do, skim what you can and bind the rest with some cornstarch dissolved in white wine. The reason we added a little flour to brown is so if you do this step, the sauce won't look clear, as though you had taken a shortcut and only used cornstarch (Engl Cornflour). Season with salt and pepper, add some freshly chopped parsley. If the sauce tastes a bit oily, add some fresh lemon juice or a dash of Balsamic Vinegar. (If you don't have brown chicken stock, use regular stock. The color of this sauce is a rich reddish brown, using regular chicken stock it will be too pale. Adjust it with dark mushroom soy, and use less salt.) Suggested Wine: Gallo Chardonnay was used to cook and drink with this dish Serving Ideas : On a bed of rice, noodles, mashed potatoes (Colcannon - see recipe above) or grits NOTES: Chasseur, or Hunter Style was formerly meant for badly shot game or tough old birds. The birds were always cut up to remove lead shot or torn parts, and often cooked all day on the back of the range if they were old or tough. From and with thanks to http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg0596/chichas.html